Visual Statement: The saga of stagecraft

“Hairspray” doesn’t usually make you think of blood, sweat and tears. Onstage, the cast and crew pulled off, seemingly effortlessly, a production where every song was on pitch and every step was in place. But behind the scenes, actors, directors, choreographers, set designers and others put in late nights and long rehearsals for months before the show premiered to make sure everything was in place for opening night. As I followed MUSKET’s production of “Hairspray,” from the auditions to opening night, I was given the opportunity to document a view of theater that theatergoers don’t think of when they see the end result on stage: the journey of a musical from sign-up sheet to curtain’s rise.